College Degrees Online Versus Traditional Degrees - Which Is Better?

So you are looking to get some higher education, but how exactly should you do it? Do you go the traditional route and just go to a real world college or do you take to the world of the internet and try for and online college degree? Is one better than the other? Many people ask this question when choosing between the two. The answer is not as straightforward as you may want it to be however. Whether or not an online college degree will be accepted as a normal degree depends on quite a few factors. The company you are applying at may simply not choose to recognize it. The level of your degree and its type will also be a factor. The person that will be overlooking your degree may also choose to not accept it.

Employers may often question the school’s legitimacy especially if the institution you received your degree is unknown to them. It is not the fault of the employer, they should be wary. There are many people out there that grant others degrees that are not worth the money they are printed on. Some of these faux institutions may sound legitimate but beware. Many of them are well disguised to fool you into giving them money for nothing. Always shoot for a school that is well known and well recognized. Make sure you know that your online college institution is accredited. Also keep in mind that the online bachelor’s degree is the least trusted amongst the people. Many believe this level of online degree less likely to be a true degree.

Degrees that are legitimate that are earned online tend to be regarded as the real deal when they are majors that are generally knowledge based. Information technology and accounting are some examples of this type of field. Keep in mind that some companies may be more open to online degrees than some others. Internet based companies are among the type that are a little more open to online degrees. Careers in medicine and law are among the least likely to be open to accepting an online degree.

Sometimes it simply comes down to the specific person that is checking out your credentials. The person or persons that will be in charge of actually getting you hired or not may have their own opinions on this subject. Some may want more experience than just an online college degree. Of course it goes both ways and you may get someone who prefers or accepts someone with an internet obtained degree. Your own personal work experience will also help influence those who hire you, naturally. If you have good work experience in the same field as what your internet gained degree in, it will indeed make you look more legit. If you have no work experience or anything otherwise that shows why you obtained your particular degree will make it look much more fraudulent than not.

Even if your online degree is from a higher quality institution it will still be less accepted in certain areas. A normal real world college has its own good qualities about it that an online institution just does not have. Classroom participation is one. Getting out there and participating with other people in a shared interest will help you take a new perspective on things. You will have opportunities to join study groups which aid some people immensely. Something you can’t do if the only other person you see is your reflection in your computer monitor. Hands on experience will sometimes be gained in the real world college as well, and there is nothing better to prepare you than good old fashioned experience.

You will have the college library at your disposal and other resources to help in your studies. The internet is good but sometimes real world work for your research is better, if not a little harder. Sometimes just having an instructor around to keep you focused and trying to get you to complete your work may also help. Though on a down side, you can’t miss many days of your classes. Absenteeism will always severely hinder your college life. Online courses, however, will allow you to make a schedule that will fit to your needs.

Many people also need more time to comprehend what it is exactly that they are learning. It is not a bad thing to need or even want extra time to go over what it is that you are taking in. Maybe your job is just too constricting. Many people cram when they have a big test but all of the information that you force yourself to memorize over a short period will not be remembered in the long run. You want to be able to hold on to all the knowledge that you gain for as long as possible so that you will benefit from it at its fullest and not just use the information gathered to pass your next test. The things you learn should be at your disposal for the rest of your life so that you can apply it to your everyday living.

Some people also suffer from learning disabilities that instructors are not always good at handling. Going for an online college degree means more time to cope and understand what it is that you are taking in. Some may also be embarrassed by their learning disability and although they should not be, going the online way may serve to be a more comfortable route than a real world class room. Being comfortable in your surroundings will help your overall learning experience. Some people just plain work better without the distraction of other class mates. Sometimes, even though they are supposed to be adults and in a respectable atmosphere, people can still act out and disrupt class like they were back in high school (or grade school even) just to get a laugh.

Also, that means that if you are a faster than average student then you can blow through the course without having to wait for the instructor to keep pace with you. Some of us can grasp things with little to no time at all. If you are learning at a faster pace, sitting in a real world classroom while being bored to tears will not help you in the long run. Some instructors may just be going far too slow for you and you will be hard pressed to pay attention if the instructor is going over something for the umpteenth time for those who have yet to grasp the concept of what they are being taught. Meanwhile you are left waiting to get on to what you will need next for your specific needs. Going online and making sure it does not conflict with your work schedule will also mean that you will not be losing any income by rearranging your schedule and possibly lose days at work to accommodate your class schedule which is never a good thing at all.

This only works if you are good at getting yourself moving however. There will be no one watching over you and pushing you to finish what you need to get done in an online college class. When you are searching for the right school for you, you need to make sure that it is an accredited online college. There are still many people out there praying on others that will end up giving you a diploma that is worthless even though you gave your hard earned cash for it. The places that end up screwing you over in the end will have no factual accreditation and completing the online program will mean little to noting once you are through. Regional or national organizations are the ones that will say whether or not the online school you are interested in is accredited, depending on what type of school they are. Only institutions that are trustworthy are capable of getting accredited.

In the end it really comes down to what is better suited to you and your needs. Sometimes people will just not be able to find the time to fit in a class in their already hectic lives. Maybe your job is not flexible enough to allow you to get sufficient study time. Maybe you just plain do not have the money to go to a real world college. An online college course is much cheaper than a real world one, but that does not always mean better. It seems that if you have the time and the cash, it would be best to go to a real world institution if not just because the degrees you earn there are accepted much more than those that you would acquire in an online class. But if life is too complicated to fit in a real world class, than as long as you try for a quality online institution, it will not be so bad. It all depends on what fits your needs better.